Study: Volusia Fliers Use Orlando Airport

December 4, 1985|By Rick Tonyan of The Sentinel Staff

DAYTONA BEACH — Most business people in Volusia County would prefer to use Daytona Beach Regional Airport but instead fly out of Orlando because it is less expensive, according to preliminary results of a survey on airport use.

A sampling of 25 questionnaires from 435 returned so far shows that all but one of the business people prefer Daytona Beach, but all but two usually fly from Orlando International Airport.

Nineteen of 25 people in the sampling listed cheaper air fares as the reason they use Orlando International Airport in Orange County. The others said that Orlando offers more convenient flight times and more direct flights to their destinations.

Although the sampling represents only a tiny fraction of the 4,000 questionnaires distributed by the county two weeks ago, Bob Atchison, Volusia County's community information officer, said the responses probably reflect the attitudes of most businesses in the county.

The businesses in the sampling were scattered throughout the county and ranged from a small shop with one employee to a banking chain with 350.

Atchison said he hopes to receive at least 2,000 of the surveys eventually. He said he plans to have final results available by the end of the month.

Dennis McGee, director of the Daytona Beach airport, said the lower air fares offered in Orlando have been a problem for the Daytona Beach airport since the federal government deregulated fares in 1979.